As someone who has lost pets, my heart goes out to you. I had a cat that I had taken in as a stray. She was almost feral when I found her. It took awhile for her to trust me. Her previous owner had been abusive. They had moved away and just left her. When she was ready to give birth, she came to get me. I followed her, but I thought maybe she'd like her privacy, so I left and went to another room. She came and got me again. She had her kittens under my bed and I watched them all being born. When she died, I felt as though someone had ripped the heart right out of my chest. I cried for days.
Yor quilt is beautiful. I love the border. I don't like the red heart where it is because I think it's distracting. I would rather see it on the back.